State Capture: Moyane to cross-examine Gordhan

All eyes will be at the State Capture Commission on Monday, 30 November 2020, as former SARS Commissioner, Tom Moyane will get to cross-examine Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan.

Both Moyane and Gordhan have not enjoyed a rosy relationship, likely over the so-called SARS rogue-unit and the saga surrounding the early retirement payout of former deputy SARS Commissioner Ivan Pillay.

The commission, chaired by Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, will also hear from former SARS employee and partner at BAIN SA, Athol Williams.

Gordhan was first set to appear in August 2020, however Gordhan said he could not meet the obligation, citing commitments in cabinet.

Moyane was granted leave to cross-examine Gordhan in November 2019, after the minister accused Moyane of acting maliciously and was motivated by politics when he laid a criminal complaint against him in 2016.

Moyane’s legal counsel: ‘There is a right to fairness’

The minister, through his legal counsel advocate Michelle le Roux, has also accused Moyane of helping facilitate state capture and looting during his tenure at the revenue service.

The former Sars commissioner’s legal representative advocate Dali Mpofu told the inquiry that fairness was what was central to the issue.

“There was a general outcry after the first ruling, but the point is, with the greatest respect, that this notion that people are above being cross-examined should be dispelled”, Mpofu said.

“We accept that there is no right to cross-examine, but there is a right to fairness. A person cannot come here and say that Moyane is an ‘advancer’ of State Capture and then he is immunised from being cross-examined”

Moyane has also accused Gordhan of being racist, an allegation which Mpofu pointed out that the minister failed to refute. He was given the axe by President Cyril Ramaphosa in November 2018.

Ramaphosa was acting on the recommendations set by Judge Robert Nugent. He was scathing in his report, labelling him as corrupt and as a measure to help fix things at SARS.

“The day Mr Moyane took office was a calamity for Sars. Almost immediately, and then continuously for the next eighteen months, Sars was thrown into turmoil with tragic consequences for the lives of many people, tragic consequences for the reputation of Sars and tragic consequences for the country at large,” Nugent said in part.